Seebeck Coefficients in Nanoscale Junctions: Effects of Electron-vibration Scattering and Local Heating

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to analyze how electron-vibration interactions and local heating influence the Seebeck effect in nanoscale aluminum junctions, revealing temperature-dependent behaviors.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of elastic and inelastic Seebeck coefficients considering local heating effects in nanoscale junctions.

Findings

Inelastic Seebeck effects are enhanced by normal modes at low temperatures.

Local heating further magnifies the inelastic Seebeck effects.

At high temperatures, inelastic effects are weakly suppressed due to quasi-ballistic transport.

Abstract

We report first-principles calculations of inelastic Seebeck coefficients in an aluminum monatomic junction. We compare the elastic and inelastic Seebeck coefficients with and without local heating. In the low temperature regime, the signature of normal modes in the profiles of the inelastic Seebeck effects is salient. The inelastic Seebeck effects are enhanced by the normal modes, and further magnified by local heating. In the high temperature regime, the inelastic Seebeck effects are weakly suppressed due to the quasi-ballistic transport.